Prince Harry an odd man out at father's coronation spectacle

LONDON (AP) – In that fairy-tale ending to King Charles Ill being crowned king, he stepped into a horse-drawn carriage with his queen and was escorted to his Off to the palace.

His family also included 9-year-old Prince George, who is second in line to the throne, behind his eldest son and heir apparent, Prince William.

The king’s youngest son was nowhere to be seen. On his father’s biggest day, Prince Harry arrived at Westminster Abbey alone and left alone. The disgruntled Duke of Sussex was assigned to sit two rows behind his brother.

His isolation likely included giving up his royal duties and, thus, no longer ranking as a senior family member, as well as separating himself from his father and brother and revealing palace secrets in his explosive best-selling memoir. It was the result of telling. “Excessive.”

If anyone was hoping that the coronation would help break the ice between Harry and his brother, who were once so close, they will surely be disappointed. The siblings were neither seen talking to each other nor acknowledging each other during the ceremony.

After months of speculation whether he would attend, it was announced about three weeks ago that Harry would arrive alone, leaving his wife Meghan and their two young children at their Southern California home.

Harry and Meghan, who are fraternities, left royal life and moved to the US in 2020 following intense scrutiny from the British press and complaints of racist attitudes.

In the six-part Netflix series, he lobbied for other criticisms leveled at the royal family, alleging racial bias. In January, Harry dropped his blistering book detailing the family mess with intimate details about losing his virginity behind a pub at 17, taking drugs and killing enemies in Afghanistan.

The book was particularly unflattering towards his stepmother, Camilla, who was once blamed for ruining his father’s marriage to their mother, the late Princess Diana. He accused Camilla of leaking private conversations to the media in order to rehabilitate her own image after marrying Charles.

Buckingham Palace announced ahead of the coronation that Harry and the King’s brother, Prince Andrew, would have no role in the service.

Andrew, Duke of York, stepped down from royal duties following revelations of his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He was later stripped of his honorary military title and patronage and settled a lawsuit with a woman who said she was forced to have sex with him when she was a teenager.

William took a leading role, kneeling at his father’s feet, pledging his loyalty and then kissing him on the cheek. George served as a page boy, helping run his grandfather’s clothing train.

Harry entered The Caverns Church in a black custom Dior three-piece suit with Cottell. An Honorary Cross hung around his neck and military medals were pinned to the left side of his chest. He nodded, shook hands, and said a few words to the priest and several of the guests already seated.

He moved in with his cousin, Princess Eugenie, and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, who followed his father, Andrew. They all sat in the same row.

During the two-hour pageant, intense attention was focused on Harry by the media and royal onlookers. He appeared to join the congregation in one of several renditions of “God Save the King” during a ceremony filled with fanfare and music.

Some British newspapers even consulted professional lip-readers to interpret what Harry was saying.

The Daily Mirror revealed that it appears she said “hello,” “morning” and “nice to see you” as she entered the church.

Harry has vowed to make media reform part of his mission in life. He has filed several lawsuits against British newspaper publishers for phone-hacking scandals dating back more than a decade.

His trial against the Mirror’s publisher begins in the High Court on Wednesday. Harry is expected to testify in June.

Harry was seen waiting for a car after the carriages left the church. They were later spotted at Heathrow Airport. Their son Archie turned 4 on Saturday and was said to be going back for his birthday.

Shortly afterwards, King Charles III and Queen Camilla waved to the gathered crowd below from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. They were joined by William, his wife Kate, three children and other royals.